


The Lion and the Phoenix

by tamgorine



Series: The Lion and the Phoenix [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Adventure, Anarchy, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Blood and Violence, Dad Lance, Drama, Keith is pansexual. I'm saying it loud and clear here. Unpopular headcanon, LGBTQ Character, Minor Curtis/Shiro (Voltron), Minor Keith/Shiro (Voltron), Multi, Romance, Shiro and Curtis are canon here...., Slow Romance, everyone is queer okay? deadass. im not kidding. those are my intentions., i will add warnings/disclaimers in the beginning of necessary chapters to warn readeers, lance/original character - Freeform, most of the characters in this story are gonna be with original characters to avoid ship wars, please read with an open mind because im tired of ship wars, this story is fucking wild. trust me. i wrote it.
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:22:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25472350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tamgorine/pseuds/tamgorine
Summary: This is the first volume, The Dawn of the Revolution!It has been almost two-decades since Voltron has been disbanded. Many of the old paladins have gone off in their separate ways to live their own individual lives. However, in a faraway galaxy, a star fell from the sky and landed on a planet. This star was a child, founded by an alien family in the middle of nowhere, but as she grew older, she began to realize that her life had a lot more meaning than a princess with a destined plan. There is a grave threat that entered into the universe, and this girl may be the key to stopping it, but, she would need help from the well-known heroes that saved the universe before. What sort of journeys would unfold?------This story is based off the Netflix Original series Voltron: Legendary Defenders. Characters are owned by Dreamworks and the series. All original characters are created and owned by the author, Reana/Reina (tamgorine).This is action-packed with wild adventures in this sci-fi world of the story, while most scenarios are based off of real-life circumstances that occur today. It does contain romantic relationships, and some subplot points revolve around that genre.
Series: The Lion and the Phoenix [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1846831





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: Slight description of Gore/Bodily fluids
> 
> Hello, everyone! Hola, como están! I'm Reana, Reina, or tamgorine! You can call me Rey/Rei! 
> 
> This is my first fanfiction on this website, so I am a tad nervous. 
> 
> A few disclaimers: 
> 
> I have been planning this story for about 3+ years. 
> 
> It is a WIP with 135k words and counting. 
> 
> Please read this with an open mind. This is my baby, to be frank. I worked hard on this, and I did my very best to try to have every character go through developments from their own challenges and praises. 
> 
> Characters do have flaws. Some flaws that hit close to home with me, and they were hard to write. I did cry more than once while writing this. 
> 
> I hope you love them as much as I do--canon characters and my own. 
> 
> Muchas gracias. Thank you.
> 
> Rei

**Prologue**

_If you are reading this, the text you are about to read is of classified information._

_Do you wish to proceed…..? Enter Y/N._

_Please type in your command…_

** >Enter: Y;**

_Thank you…Please wait…_

  
_Please enter your legal code number._

**> Enter: GP-1108;**

  
_Welcome, I am your Intellectual Virtual Assistant, but you may call me I.V.A. How may I assist you?_

_Enter Command…._

**> Enter: Unwrapping; **

_Which logs do you wish to unwrap…?_

**> Enter: Phoenix; **

_I’m sorry. Access permission only for official personnel of the Galactic Garrison._

**> Enter: Code Project Sunset;**

_Command granted. Accessing……_

_Please wait……_

The computer screen flickers for a moment, first black then blue then black again to show the green text. The woman behind the computer screen waited patiently, leaning back against the chair in the darkness of the room. 

The computer beeps. Instantly, images and videos began appearing onto the monitor to show the lady what she asked for. 

There were images of indescribable photos that were taken with greyscale film. They were harsh scans, some faces were smudged and blurred out—mostly the faces of the officers. However, one appeared murky like it was stained by the flames of fire. It appeared to be a photo of a young child. Their face was emotionless and their eyes, which appeared to be light-colored, were dark and empty. They had bags under their eyes, their cheeks sunken, and there was a collar around the child’s neck. 

The cursor clicked onto the attachment of the photo, revealing a large file. It was the file that was admitted in the late summer back in 3018—during Voltron’s three-year absence. 

**Name: N/A**  
 **Age: ~7 y/o**  
 **Species: Unknown—Extraterrestrial.**  
 **Notes: Test subject is able to perform high levels of telekineses and telepathic communication. Advise caution.**  
 **⁃ Blood has been noted to perform healing abilities for only specific blood types. Investigation in process.**  
 **⁃ Genetic mutation access is on stand-by from the Galactic Garrison.**

The mouse cursor clicked onto a video. Again, the video was of low quality, and the guards faces appeared blurred, but of one child of an unknown gender that had restraints clamped around their hands and ankles. They were frail, skinny, and bald. They wore white hospital scrubs with their feet bare. A subject was strapped onto a chair, squirming and groaning. Then, the subject began to scream, taking deep breaths between each holler of pain until the back of their head burst and their insides splattered against the white tile floor. 

The computer beeped. 

_File completely unwrapped._

_Do you need further assistance? Enter Y/N._

**> Enter: Y; **

_How may I assist you?_

**> Enter: Unwrapping G.A.R. Darkside; **

_Command granted. Accessing…_


	2. Escapees

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Galactic Garrison officers encountered with trespassing aliens, yet tension rises when things become a conflict about territory. What would the escapees do when the pressure from the foreign planet of Earth rises?

**Escapees**

The darkness of the sky showed the shimmering sparkles of the stars, yet there were only a few that decorated the nightly heavens. The large quarter moon brightly shone with its white halo, looking down on the empty space of earth below; however, the emptiness was soon interrupted when a foreign ship came hurtling from a faraway distance through the planet’s atmosphere. It crash landed into the deepest parts of the canyon, surrounded by large walls of red rocks that took different forms and shapes from the years of weathering.  
  
The ship formed a crater, piercing into the earth with its nose. Inside, it was an empty vessel, but showed the advanced technologies of a navigation system that had foreign switches and labels of language all over the control board with two passenger seats. Surrounding the ship were large trucks and cars of a military squad, the logo on these trucks showed a large, grey-colored letter-G on the door of the truck with orange and white filling the space to trace beside the letter. The logo represented a well-known military organization known as the Galaxy Garrison, which is popular for training future military officers for space travel and space affairs.

An older man, wearing a formal, Galaxy Garrison officer uniform—a grey coat with a mandarin collar and pockets. The coat has black piping and buttons up near his right breast pocket while his shoulders were decorated with golden stripes of four on each. A red crescent of the Garrison’s logo decorated his left sleeve—which he proudly wore. His silver hair, cut into a clean-shaven buzzcut, hid underneath the hat he wore that also had the crescent logo. However, his expression was sour, making anyone nervous just by a single glance. His eyebrows wrinkled cruelly while his lips were tightly pressed together to form a thin line. His eyes were blue—gorgeous hues but darkened from how he glowered at anything and anyone. A man that had a reputation in battle, which a telling scar wrapped around his neck marked him from his unknown history. The mismatch scar contrasted his warm flesh, but even if someone mentions it, the old man would burn with rage and do unthinkable things as punishment. He was ruthless, even the earth trembled when he walked.

He is the Marshal—Marshal Herbert Wade.

He was leaving his royal carriage of a large, six-wheel vehicle that was green with large windows that were darkly tinted. His heavy boot hit the earth, making his presence known to the other official guards that were quarantining the area. There were large tents of white scattered about, sitting next to the parked trunks with poles of lights beaming down at the crashed ship. Soldiers of different divisions came and were all wearing white, masked hazmat suits with devices held in their hands.

“Sir!” a couple of guards greeting him, saluting.  
  
“At ease,” the voice of the Marshal rumbled. “Status report.”

“A ship crashed, sir!” one of the young soldiers told him.

The marshal’s intense eyes narrowed at the young soldier, and the look made the soldier turn to stone. “I know it did. Do you take me for a dumbass! Tell me about it!”

The second soldier spoke up, noticing how his partner was frozen stiff with frightened silence. “The ship is unidentifiable with our system, sir. It is alien, yet we are running tests—”

“Running tests?'' The Marshal rose his voice, his towering figure leaning over the young soldiers. “There ain’t no time for tests! I didn’t come here to chit chat and sit on my ass! You take that damn thing and bring it to base!” 

“But, sir, the tests are to see if the ship can be toxic because of—”

“I don’t care about the technicalities, soldier!” Marshal Wade boomed, aiming his pointed finger at the alien ship,“You bring that ship to our base so we can dissect it in our territory! Do you get it!” 

“Right, sir! But, we also have to report that upon arriving at here location, we encountered the two passengers of the alien aircraft,” the soldier quickly spoke.

This peaked the marshal’s curiosity, like a feline cat, his ears twitched. “Two passengers?” he wondered.

The soldier nodded. “Yes, sir. They were armored and they had great weapons, but one appeared severely injured. We tried to defend ourselves, but it wasn’t like anything we encountered before…not since the Galra invaded, sir.”

The marshal pushed passed the two soldiers, his heavy boots hitting against the dirt of the earth. He was heading towards the aircraft to get a better look. Multiple soldiers warned him to wear the suit, but he decided to push them away and continue forward. “Did you capture the trespassers?” the marshall’s voice boomed as he asked.

The soldiers tried to keep up with the rapid pace of their marshal. “No, sir. They fled.”

“Damn aliens. They’re cowards,” the marshal bitterly claimed with his fists clenched tightly by his sides.

Gushes of wind and loud humming of running blades of incoming aircrafts rustled the air around them. The marshal gazed up, wincing when a bright white spotlight flashed down on him, blinding him. The aircraft resembled helicopters, but the blades were on the wings of the aircraft. The metal was dark, blending in with the night sky with two blinking lights at each wing of the craft.

“Well, shit,” the marshal deadpanned. “They’re here.”

In the distance, black vehicles picking up dirt off the empty canyon came hurling. Their brakes screeching, they halted and parked next to the Galactic Garrison military vehicles. The cars wore no labels like the Galactic Garrison military vehicles, and their windows were darkly tinted it reflected the outer world around them. 

From the bright lights of the vehicles, darkened figures emerged. There were figures of unidentifiable people with suits — black suits—and they wore sunglasses with thick, dark lenses. They stood still and tall, their hands behind their backs.

These were members of a secret operative organization that worked underneath the Galactic Alliance of the Republic, the new political system that overrules the entire universe. Ever since the invasion with the Galra, after the war, the Coalition formed a board, but it was a lot to handle for a small group so a larger group was formed—the Universal Galactic Alliance of the Republic, or the G.A.R for short. Each sector of the universe is ruled by one head representative, and there are seven of them. These seven collaborate with the Galactic Coalition to form laws for the government, along with economic security. They are the umbrella of the galaxy—without them, a lot of disorder would erupt and the balance of the universe will crumble. 

These new laws were set for the new political system like every alien immigrant traveling to a different sector that was not of their origin must have a pass or form of I.D. For travel authorization. They even changed the Galran Empire’s currency to a more universally different currency—Galactic Gullan, or G.G. for short. 

Nevertheless, the Coalition has the ambassadors that work like messengers and doers of any demand the representatives’ order, and they are the ones that maintain the peace of the universe. In addition, there are two ambassadors that are assigned to each sector under one representative. Moreover, if there is an alien, Homosapien or other, that disrupts the peace of the universe—either breaking any of the G.A.R’s laws like illegal residency for any alien immigrant without proper identification, the ambassadors of the Coalition would be enforced to send out their own secret personnel to have it handled and investigated. 

And that is what they are here to do. 

One of the aircrafts landed onto the earth, the engines of the ship whirred and hummed as it powered down, and the metals cranking and clunking while the gears relaxed. The marshal narrowed his blue orbs at the aircraft while his young soldiers stood behind him, peeping over his shoulder with nervous gazes. 

A rear ramp of the aircraft hissed open and whirred while it slowly lowered onto the red dirt of the canyon, revealing several more figures in the shadows of the rear hangar. Soldiers wearing uniforms—navy coats with black cargo pants with high leather boots—marched forward with weapons in their hands. They had a symbol on their right sleeve—the symbol of the Galactic Alliance Officers—was a golden star with six smaller stars around—the symbol of the seven representatives that form the alliance. 

However, a tall figure walked down the ramp, the heels of her boots clanking against the metal. Her uniform was dark grey with lights that were neon purple, glowing and bouncing off her shining armor. She wore a sash that wrapped around her torso and tied around her waist while a sheath hang by her side with a small blade inside. 

Once her figure emerged from the shadows and into the bright lights from the light posts, she stuck out like a sore thumb in comparison to the soldiers and black-suits that gathered around her. Her skin was like lavender from lilac petals, her hair was a dark violet that was cut short and stuck out at the back with bangs that were unevenly cut that sweep to the left side of her face. Her beauty was not of elegance but of strength like a lioness. Her sharp eyes shone with fierceness of her feminine beauty. Her posture was confident and stoic, holding her head high as she walked, and she walked with a purpose and with strength. The soldiers that crowded were pushed by an invisible force, making a path for her as she continued to lead the way.

“Ambassador Krolia,” Marshal Wade greeted without any sound of a warm welcome in his voice.

“Marshal,” Krolia formally greeted him.

“Where’s your friend?” Wade wondered with hint of mocking. 

Krolia narrowed her eyes. “Busy.” 

She towered over him, casting a shadow over the marshal because of her strong build and stature. Marshal didn’t waver. It was like a battle between them—an unspoken one—of who held more power, but it was more of the Marshal’s own sense of pride and ego that caused him to simmer with anger and feel there was a battle in the first place.

Krolia scanned the area, noticing the Galactic Garrison officials crowding around with devices in their hands and their wide-eyed expressions staring at her. Her sharp eyes was able to glimpse a crashed ship, only getting a glimpse of its outside appearance. It was obvious this investigation was proceeded without any sort of authorization. 

“I ask you what you think you’re doing, Marshal Wade?” Krolia asked, her hands pressed on her hips.

“I believe that is not any of your concern, Ambassador. This is our jurisdiction and territory for investigation,” the marshal responded, stepping closer to face the tall alien.

“If I recall, the Galactic Alliance of the Republic works above all sectors—including yours. The Ambassadors of the Coalition were authorized for this investigation, so pull your soldiers back.”

He scoffed, “Galactic Alliance of the Republic. You guys are a joke. Galactic Garrison handled extraterrestrials way before your kind came into the picture.”

“Well, then, see this as us taking it off your hands,” Krolia replied. She looked over her shoulder and nodded her head, motioning her personnel to proceed forward.

The one in suits marched, all in unison like robots, carrying their metal briefcases and tools with them as they forced their ways through the crowd of soldiers in hazmat suits. The Galactic Alliance officers stood guard, their eyes watching Wade’s personnel with studying gazes. They were like a wall, blocking the soldiers from proceeding forward into the scene.

Krolia pushed past the marshal, taking her steps forward to see the craft. 

“The trespassers are still out there, you know,” Marshal Wade stated.

Krolia gave him a passive smile over her shoulder. “I believe that is no longer your concern, Marshal Wade.”

  
◆ 

The hovering of sounds of foreign ships echoed just outside, but two bodies hid in the deepest shadows of a cave that looked out to the empty canyon. White lights scanned the area, peeking the light barely inside the cave. 

There was a soldier, wearing a spacesuit of a light metal that replicated a more modern suit of armor. It was shaped for his body, simply appearing like a thick skin over the host that wore it; however, his arm was greatly injured from battling the aliens of this planet earlier. They chased him through the canyon until they were able to escape and hide inside of this cave. His helmet had two round lenses that resembled the mask’s eyes that allowed the soldier to see through. Intricate language that doesn’t originate from the foreign planet appeared on the visual display, showing his vitals and the stats of the outside world that was completely strange to him. 

The hovering of the foreign ships and lights vanished until the soldier felt comfortable enough to know that the coast was clear. 

“Seems this planet is quite hostile,” The soldier’s voice was robotic through the microphone of the helmet. “Are you sure this planet is it?” 

A young girl, a royal, once princess-now-queen, sat closely behind him, holding onto her side from a great wound that wasn’t from this planet’s, spoke, “I’m sure.” 

The soldier stood up from his crouching position, allowing his lenses to scan the area around him. Pieces of information was gathered from his scan, showing that most of the cave was just rock with no sign of life inside. 

There was a word that was completely foreign to him: Limestone. The entire cave was covered in a deep shade of red rock called that, and the soldier never heard about it before. He commanded his suit for further analysis of this ‘limestone’. 

“A sturdy mineral that is composed of calcium carbonate. Typically found on planet Earth, limestone rocks fall under the category of sedimentary rocks that are made from mineral calcite.” 

The soldier hummed, intrigued by this new piece of information. He saved it inside of his log. As any soldier, gathering new piece of information is a step further into knowing the enemy and their terrain. 

“I think we can be able to form a temporary base of operations until we can regain ourselves. We don’t even know where we are,” the soldier stated factually. He walked to the wall of the cave, the metal finger of his suit chipping away at the rock to see pieces of it crumble to the ground. 

He heard a soft click and a hiss echo behind him, causing the soldier to turn to look over his shoulder. The soldier noticed the young queen taking off her helmet. An alarm of warning blared inside his mind causing the soldier to quickly move his feet and taking off his own helmet as he held in a deep breath. 

“Wait, Esme!” the young queen yelled out. 

But, just as any soldier who is ordered on a mission, Esme took no regard to the queen’s protest. His mission was to protect the queen at all costs, even if it is sacrificing his own life for her to be saved. His helmet, even if it was a tight fit on the queen’s head due to the thick curls of her black hair, was shoved on, and the young soldier’s face began turning into different shades of colors as he struggled to breathe. He fell onto his knees, wrapping his armored hands around his neck as he let out a large gasp of air. 

The soldier’s face was revealed to show dark skin, almost like dark chocolate, that held sharp features of chiseled cheek bones with a thick frame of black eyebrows over a pair of dark, deep-set eyes that studied everything around him and glared at anything by instinct. His hair was thick, black like the darkest night that he always combed back, but strays of loose strands formed into bangs that framed each side of his face, but he would push it back behind his pair of pointed-ears. He was handsome, there is no doubt, but the strong features he wore with his intense expression had him appear rather intimidating rather than welcoming. 

The soldier realized that he could breathe without his eyes popping out of his sockets. Feeling a bit foolish for a quick moment, the soldier stared at the eyes of his helmet to see the orbs of the queen glaring at him. 

“Are you crazy! You could’ve died!” Esme told his queen. 

The queen, groaning and wincing, pulled the helmet from her head, letting it hiss as the air inside it gushed out. Her thick locks fell down gracefully over her space suit, the curls of her hair bouncing. Her skin was dark, but much lighter than the soldier’s, just like the richest of milk chocolate that any royal would drool after. Her beauty was immaculate, almost like she was a rare gem—which she was. Her face was like a heart, the widow’s peak pointing down her forehead to form the imaginary line of symmetry of her face. Her lips were full, yet balanced, with a small cupid’s bow that made her lips look gently pursed if she smiled. Her brows were thin and dark and framed her face and hooked over her eyes. They were round and blue with light-colored irises that resembled nebulas of a galaxy. She would always be found with eyes that were dreamy and warming, but they stared at the soldier like a storm was brewing inside. 

“My suit analyzed the atmosphere. I am fine,” he told him with a frown. She handed the helmet back to the soldier a bit too harshly. 

“That’s good to hear, your Majesty, but Orion had ordered me to have responsibility over your safety,” Esme sternly said, letting the helmet rest against his side as he held it. “You can’t do anything rash like that without my own say so.” 

The young queen gapped at his bold statement. “By your own say so? I beg your pardon, but I am able to do anything I wish on my own accord. Of course, I wouldn’t be an idiot and act irrationally. I’m not some dumb princ—queen that you may think I am.” 

With some resistance of the stinging pain that she felt on her side, the young queen stumbled up from the cold, hard ground of the dark cave. Resting her hand against the wall, she lifted each of her heavy feet to move forward. Her legs were like noodles and her vision gave her a sense of being underwater while her breaths were staggered and grasping onto each inhale of life into her aching lungs. 

“Where are you going?” the soldier asked, watching her walking away. 

“Home,” she breathed out. 

“Wait, you can’t! Your mother sent us here for a reason—to find the old paladins!”

“I can’t sit around and know that my home is being overtaken by the Revolts—those murderers! My people need me, and I can’t help them if I am here.” 

“You are injured! You can barely even stand! You are needed here to be kept safe until you fully recover and we find those paladins so we can secure the future of Periana!” 

The queen’s eyes shot daggers at the soldier, and once, underneath the moonlight from the night sky, the soldier could see the dark shadows underneath her eyes that weighed down to take form of large bags. Her dark skin was drained of color, paling more from the white light of the moon. The alarm inside the soldier’s head was not ringing, but it was still flashing the red light of warning that something is not right with his queen. 

“Don’t preach to me about what is secure for my home planet! Don’t think I don’t know about you, Esme Apurva. My mother and Orion told me many stories about you and your rebellious streak.” 

The soldier didn’t like what the queen had to say about him, making his blood boil with rage. His eyes narrowed at the queen, a static of tension between their meeting eyes, but the soldier had to turn his gaze away for a second to let his blood simmer. He was too enraged to say anything, letting the thick silence of the cool night fill between them while the crickets chirped. 

“I don’t understand why Orion would entrust you with this mission,” Marina bitterly muttered under her breath, leaning against the walls of the cave. 

There was a sharp pain that left a burning trail inside her right side, piercing through her chest and stabbing into her heart. A gasp of air escaped Marina’s lips as her weak legs fell beneath her like shattered glass. 

“Marina!” Esme called out to her in an urgent voice. 

Marina’s world was darkening, and she wasn’t sure about what was happening. It was like the world around her was slowly vanishing inside the darkness of her vision, getting swallowed up into the empty space of her mind. The sounds of the world drowned out into the sea of nothingness, and the pain that Marina’s body felt slowly vanished and she felt a lot lighter. 

“Marina!” an echo called out to her, but Marina was too lost in the darkness to reach out towards it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! 
> 
> Please comment, favorite, and/or share! 
> 
> Rei


	3. New Visitors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Krolia brings in the new ship for Pidge to look into. But, five new visitors make their way to Earth.

**New Visitors**

_Dedicated to Bex Taylor Klaus_   
_Your love and enthusiasm for Pidge is so contagious, and I hope that my “continued” version can bring out the same kind of emotions._   
_\- A Fan and an Author_

On the outskirts of the canyon, there was a building that was about three stories high with a large hangar where vehicles and aircraft are stored to come and go. It sat in the deep parts of the canyon, surrounding itself with the high, red walls of rock, which provided a great barrier of protection. 

There was a separate building that remained a station of sorts. That was a teleduv teleportation device used as a central hub for any soldier or cargo pilot to use to travel to any planet and/or galaxy within a certain distance. 

These hubs have become more popular after the war, being used for imports and exports of goods and—unknown for most people’s knowledge—weapons, which come and go from different planets from faraway sectors in different galaxies. They are located at central cities that have a large influx of diverse population that were reported to the Galactic Alliance of the Republic. 

And, these hubs were greatly funded by the Garrison—thanks to a well-known officer and paladin, Katie Holt (also popularly known as Pidge). Her hair had grown, just hitting above her shoulders. It was naturally light, while it stuck out in waves, but she preferred to have it pulled back, clipping the loose strands back to prevent them from getting in her face. She wore tinted glasses that covered over her light brown orbs, not just for reading, but for multitasking. They would share the data from her computers onto her lenses, while also being able to access other files as she worked—she wanted to make sure her notes were right there, if she needed them. She wore a lab coat while over her loosely fitting scrubs that were used as pajamas and work clothes. 

She usually worked in the laboratory on the first layer of the building, neighbors to the large hangar. The lab was large, with high ceilings that had hanging lights. Along with the lights, unfinished projects like a robot would hang around with their insides showing gears and other nuts and bolts while they were plugged to some near outlet. The lab was a place where time was forgotten and only a relative thing it was because Pidge’s life seemed to happen all at once inside this workshop of hers. Projects, like the unfinished robot, had been continuously worked on for years, but new ones appeared every single day when Pidge had the sudden bulb of epiphanies to strike her inspiration. It was almost miraculous to see that she was able to organize everything—the mess—inside it. 

Drones, robotic parts, pieces of old computers laying on a table, scattered blueprint designs, and broken, overused pieces shared a space with long-forgotten projects that never reached their completion. The space expanded, used as a laboratory and a space of sleep. A messy futon that lied at one corner of the room with three pillows and a throwaway blanket waited for the long days where Pidge would sleep in after a long night of working. There was a small dining area, next to the futon, that had a open cardboard box that had some many-days-aged pizza inside with used juice pouches on top of a box that was used as a table that carried binders of information.

The late night was the dawn of her day, and Pidge was working by a large table where a hologram of a model of a future device that she was going to start working on. She had the idea in a dream, and she thought she would see how it would look in person. 

She tapped her chin. “Hm. It doesn’t seem to fit the scale that I want.” 

Chip came waltzing in, peeking over the table to look up at the hologram. Pidge and Chip’s head tilted to the side simultaneously as they both gave it a deep, contemplative gaze. 

“What you trying to use it for?” Chip wondered, analyzing it with his visual scanning system. 

Chip is an A.I. Robot that was built by Pidge’s older brother, Matt Holt. He was Pidge’s assistant when it came to inventions or anything technical as he was able to catch up with Pidge’s quick mind and building, but he was also like a close friend and younger brother to Pidge. He has the heart of a young teenager, approximately about 15-years of age, but his intelligence is ever growing, making him wise beyond his robotic years. 

He was about five-feet and slender, while his metal was silver and grey and his attire mocked the Garrison uniform but navy blue-white pattern instead of the original orange and white. He wore large spectacle glasses over his eyes that had thin, silver wire—it wasn’t really for vision because his vision is able to spot anything at a great distance but for appearances. 

It is the Holt Look™️.

Pidge hummed, “I’m not…quite sure, yet.” 

“It sort of looks like a suit of armor?” Chip claimed, gazing up at Pidge. 

Pidge nodded. “Yeah, it seems it does. I was thinking of trying a thinner material that is light-weight for the wearer.” 

“Hm, that could work…” Chip replied, his eyes flashing as he thought. 

There was a loud uproar that rang from the hangar while a sound of an alarm about the gates opening blared through the empty air. 

Chip and Pidge rushed out into the hangar to see an aircraft along with vehicles entering the facility. She noticed the familiar black cars and the aircraft which were specifically designed by her family—they arrived. And, the thought crossed her mind about why they were here all of a sudden, but she noticed that the aircrafts were carrying a unknown ship by metal wires. 

“What is that!” Chip wondered loudly, gawking at the foreign ship. 

Pidge had no idea. It was of an unknown design that was not from earth. The metal appeared silver but when the light of the hangar hit the ship it showed the metal glowing a light golden color with windows that were tinted blue. Its shape was the most interesting to Pidge. With a pointed nose of a swordfish, its body was rounded with flight propulsions at the end making a ship with a tail. 

Like a sigh, as the ship was landing close to the floor, it heaved out a puff of dust when the ship touched the ground. Pidge quickly ran towards it with eagerness. Her eyes sparkled with stars as she scanned the ship. 

Once the vehicles parked and the aircraft comfortably landed onto the ground, Krolia came out down the rear ramp. The Galactic Officers with their cases of evidence and samples came marching out one-by-one while the men in suits remained standing tall by the vehicles. 

“Pidge!” Krolia called out.

When the young scientist turned her head, her beady eyes glimmered with joy to see the ambassador and the ambassador was glad to see her too. 

“Krolia!” Pidge beamed, running up to her to give her a quick hug. “It has been a while!” 

“About a year your time.” 

Pidge blinked. “Really? I feel like it has been longer. Staying here really makes it hard to keep track.” 

Krolia let out a light chuckle. “Regardless, it is always nice to see a friend.” 

Pidge beamed, the corners of her eyes wrinkling with joy. 

Krolia then revealed to her about the ship, which Chip was so enamored and fascinated by. He was running around the ship in circles, scanning it and taking notes about the ship. 

“Where are the pilots?” Pidge wondered, standing near the ship with Krolia by her side. 

“Don’t know. Kulivan went on a search, but they were no where to be seen,” Krolia replied with her arms crossed. 

Pidge clicked on a small button on her glasses’ frame. “So, I’m assuming it is here because you want me to find its registration number and dissect it.” 

Krolia chuckled. “You are the expert.” 

Pidge had a devilish smile. She was. She is able to pinpoint anything throughout the galaxy. With the new laws, all alien ships, when manufactured, must have a registration number for the sector it was made in—it helps with organization. But, also, she is able to study the ins-and-outs of any ship technology. 

She called for Chip, beckoning him over to assist her in their investigation. Krolia ordered the officers to bring the samples they found on the site to Pidge’s laboratory. 

“We also grabbed samples from the inside and outside of the ship,” Krolia mentioned, “If you don’t mind.” 

Pidge, almost half her body inside the ship with her legs kicked out, waved her hand. “No problem. It should be a piece of cake! Chip! Scan those samples, would you!” 

Chip saluted. “Yes, boss!” 

Chip quickly scurried away, determination burning in his eyes—a robot sent out on a mission. 

Krolia watched Pidge completely disappear inside the small ship, curling on the floor with her knees close to her chest as a small tablet was carried in her hand. Cords were connected to the inside of the control panel, downloading data from the ship to the tablet. It only took a few seconds for it to be successfully downloaded, and Pidge began tapping away on the screen. 

Krolia peeked inside, seeing Pidge huddled on the floor between the driver seat and the panel. “Did…you find anything?” 

Pidge showed the tablet close to Krolia’s face. Krolia jumped back, noticing the blue screen of the tablet so close to her face. 

“Military grade. Sector 900. And, this small tank is only an escape pod. But, this little guy has some pretty wicked weapons.”

She scanned through her tablet, swiping up and selecting an item on the registered list. From the top of the ship, a small canon gun appeared. The brunette turned her gaze to look up at Krolia, a beaming grin sketched on her face. 

“You find excitement in the oddest things, Pidge.” Krolia said this with the utmost endearment. 

An alarm was ringing in the hangar, catching the two ladies’ attention. 

“Ambassador! Ambassador!” a Galactic Officer ran to Krolia. She quickly saluted before her. 

“What’s the matter?” Krolia wondered. Pidge peeked her head out, watching them. 

“There’s an alert about five bougies. Four reached past the atmosphere.” 

“What about the fifth?” Krolia wondered. 

“Its already on Earth.” 

The alarm continued to blare throughout the facility, shining its red light to warn everyone inside about the intruders. Krolia began to holler demands and orders, yelling to every soldier to get into their vehicles. 

“Ms. Krolia,” Chip spoke, catching the ambassador’s attention. Pidge and Krolia gazed down, along with the soldier. “I have their locations, they are heading this way.” 

Krolia grabbed the GPS device from Chip’s metal hands. She gazed at it, her sharp eyes narrowing when she noticed the four red dots slowly make their way to the base; however, her eyes noticed the straying red dot just outside. 

“I need specific divisions to surround the perimeter!” Krolia demanded. Soldiers banked towards their vehicles, the engines roaring loudly as they woke. “Sky patrol, come with me! Pidge.” 

Pidge nodded when she met eyes with Krolia. Chip was ordered by Pidge to remain inside the laboratory, along with other scientists of the Garrison that were able to help.

Air vehicles began to take off in the sky as the remaining officers, along with Krolia and Pidge, took more of the ground road. 

Krolia remained at the passenger seat while the officer drove. Pidge remained in the back, noticing the GPS system from the center console showing that the bougies were heading towards their direction. 

“They’re heading right for us!” Pidge commented. 

A loud roar rumbled the earth beneath the vehicle, the piercing sounds of a large vehicle’s engine vibrating the air. The car swerved on the road, everyone inside screaming. 

“What the hell was that!” the officer yelled, trying to regain control on the steering wheel. 

A loud rumble erupted underneath them again, but the windshield of the vehicle noticed a large object break the ground and caused a large cloud of sand to puff into the air. 

“Look out!” Pidge bellowed, pointing forward. 

The officer flinched, cursing loudly, turning the steering wheel and breaking the car. Krolia held onto the handle on the roof, bracing for the impact. Pidge was holding onto Krolia’s seat in front of her, her nails digging into the seat like a frightened cat as she was screaming. 

The car swerved onto its side, the tires of the vehicle digging into the dirt as it ran into the large object. The impact caused the car to flip up, the passengers inside screaming on the top of their lungs, and then falling back down, the screams still continuing. 

The dust slowly settled around them, everyone inside gapping in pure shock and confusion. Krolia was the first one that regained herself, taking the chance to slowly exit the vehicle. Yet, when her sharp eyes landed on the object they ran into, her body was stilled with shock. 

“Pidge…” she called out to her. 

Pidge was shaking. “W-what?” 

“You have to see this…” Krolia answered. 

Pidge, with a shaking hand, opened the car door. It hissed open, and with shaking legs like a newborn calf, she stood. She looked at Krolia, noticing how her sharp eyes were wide as her jaw fell to the floor. Her brown orbs followed Krolia’s gaze, and Pidge felt her heart drop into her stomach. 

What stood in front of her was something she had only dreamed of seeing. She couldn’t believe herself for what she was seeing—she probably is living an unconsciousness reality—a dream—or she could be disassociating after the accident. 

For what the young scientist saw was a large lion that had bright, lively yellow eyes. Its legs were silver like steel, yet they appeared worn from a long journey as the green paint that accented its design was chipped and old. It stood before them, towering over them with intimidating heights—yet, when Pidge saw it, her heart grew two sizes more with nostalgia. 

“Kitty Rose…” Pidge muttered, shocked. She took a step forward, her eyes never leaving the beast before her. 

The lion gazed down at her, and in Pidge’s heart and mind, she can hear the rhythmic sounds of purring. Her eyes glazed with her tears, her hand resting on the cold steel leg. 

“I missed you too, girl,” Pidge said, her voice sincere. 

Then, Pidge wondered, if the green lion was here….

“Pidge! Look!” Krolia called from behind her. 

She turned around, hearing the coming sounds of rumbling of large ships. She turned her gaze upwards, meeting the sky, to see four other lions heading towards them. 

Pidge was confused, yet relieved to see the remaining lions, but her racing mind began to rapidly think about why the lions have arrived. It had been ages since she had last seen them—she was only a young girl, about 15 years-old, and now, she sees them just before her once more. 

The lions began to make their descent onto the ground. The Blue Lion landed first with elegance and softness as to not startle the earth below its large claws. Pidge was enamored by the view that she saw before her. Her standing just outside the automobile with her jaw dropped to the floor. In over a decade, she never thought to see these lions again. The sight was like something out of a painting. The blue lion stood at the center, the white moon shining down with its glimmering stars surrounding outside its white halo. The red lion stood next to the blue lion with the black lion landing behind it as the green lion and yellow lion stood on the right side—all their yellow pairs of eyes watching the crowd intensely. 

More vehicles, including the air ships, finally made it to Krolia and Pidge’s location. The Blue Lion slowly lowered its head, bowing before them, and the mouth began to slowly open. Many of the officers left their vehicles, their guns pointed at the Blue Lion. 

“Hold your fire!” Krolia ordered, a fist raised. 

Pidge rose a brow, taking steps forward as her eyes remained on the blue lion. A ramp formed from the lion’s bottom lip, the steps lighting up with rows of blue light. 

A young man in shimmering armor stepped down from the mouth of the blue lion, the strands of his hair waving with the blowing wind. In his arms was a young girl, her curly locks draping behind her and over her shoulder as her head rested against the young man’s shoulder. His hands and chest were stained with red blood. 

But, even if there were many weapons aimed straight at the young man, he stood tall while his deep-set, brown eyes focused on Pidge’s light brown orbs. 

“For the sake of the queen, we came out for the paladins’ help! Please help us,” the young man announced. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! This was a fun chapter to write for me because I love Pidge a lot. 
> 
> She's really cool. 
> 
> I hope you liked her introduction. 
> 
> Please share, favorite, follow, comment, or whatever you like! 
> 
> Rei


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The escapees remain guests at the Galactic Garrison's medibay. There is a lot to unravel, yet not many do trust the new found members. What can they do?

**Guests**

“Blood pressure is dropping!” Stated a nurse, holding onto on side of the stretcher.

Shooting through the halls of the medibay back at the base in the middle of the canyons, a crowd of medical personnel surrounded the stretcher where a young lady laid. Blood was seeping from the cracks of her armor, staining the gauze and sheets. Her curly, black hair was disheveled and laid frazzled against the thin bedding, hanging over the edge of the stretcher. A large, clear plastic mask covered her mouth and nose, while a nurse was pushing air into the tube from a clear, plastic bag.

The young girl’s skin was pale, almost turning white from the blood that was draining from her body. Pidge, who was rushing with the crowd of nurses, gazed down at the young girl, noticing how there was a large gash on the side of her abdomen that was compressed with basic First Aid gauze and other bandages. She also noticed that there was a dark rash that covered half of her neck.

“Skins clammy. Low pulse,” one of the nurses stated, pressing two fingers on the side of her wrist.

“Lance...” the girl muttered under her breath.

Pidge’s eyes were wide with shock, her feet stilling immediately when hearing the name.

The girl winced, shaking her head and groaning. “Old…Paladins…we need them.”

Pidge watched the girl get carried away through a pair of doors that swished open, and she slowly followed trying to let her memory completely remember her by her studying eyes.

“We’re taking her to the I.C.U. Nurse Polika, we need to do blood transfusions. Contact—“ their voices disappeared once the doors swished closed.

Pidge’s focused was pulled away by the young man that carried her here. He was hollering, racing down to follow the young lady, calling out to her. Before he could make it to the double doors, the Galactic officers grabbed each of his arms and pulled him back.

“I have to be with her! Get off me!” The soldier, Esme, still wearing his armor that was stained with the young girl’s blood, hollered with anger.

The officers remained holding him back, but the soldier continue to fight. “I am a guard! I must be by her side.”

“Young man, you are injured!” an old nurse came to ridicule him, patting a swap on a cut on his forehead.

“Does that matter!” Esme replied sternly, his teeth baring fangs. He pulled his head away, avoiding the contact of the cotton swab like some rabid dog. His eyes filled with storms of his anger and frustration. “Her life matters over mine. We were attacked. I have to protect her!”

Pidge remained a few feet behind, cautiously watching. This young man seemed out of control, and a tad intimidating. Pidge would think it was him who made the girl bleed if it wasn’t for what he was saying to convince her otherwise.

“For the sake of the queen, we came out for the paladins’ help! Please help us!”

That was a bold thing to say to a bunch of strangers pointing guns at him. Pidge wondered who exactly was this child.

Krolia appeared before the young solider from the crowd of her officers, her stature towering over Esme. He gazed up, no longer thrashing. His deep-set eyes widened when they met her stern, piercing gaze.

Krolia ordered the officers to unhand Esme, telling them to back off. Esme rolled his shoulders, his eyes glaring at the tall gentlemen before meeting the strong eyes from the tall stranger.

“Who attacked you?” Krolia asked.

Esme swallowed. Without his own restraint, Krolia’s gaze pulled the words from Esme’s mouth. “Some terrorists. The previous queen had told my current majesty that we must arrive to Earth.”

“Your previous queen?” Krolia wondered.

Pidge appeared next to Krolia, a tablet in her hand. Esme eyed her, his intimidating gaze studying her.

Krolia snapped her fingers at Esme’s face, catching the boy’s attention. Esme bowed his head, apologizing. 

“She was…assassinated.”

“By whom? The terrorists?” Pidge asked.

“I’m sorry, but who are you two?”

“I’m Krolia, the ambassador of this sector. This woman here,” Krolia stated, motioning towards Pidge, “Is Pidge. She is our trusted technician, scientist, and all of the above. She is one of the prior paladins that you whole-heartedly cried out about a while ago.”

Esme gapped, staring at Pidge. She was a lot shorter as Esme towered over her by a whole foot. She appeared slim, and nothing like a knight of Voltron that he imagined. Where was her armor and muscles, and ferocious appearance? She didn’t wear any sort of uniform but wrinkled, worn scrubs and a lab coat with semi-tinted lenses.

“She doesn’t look like a paladin,” Esme blurted. His dark eyes scanned her again, raising a brow.

Pidge frowned. “You don’t look like a guard, either. Just some angry kid.”

Esme mirrored Pidge’s frown, his eyebrows crinkling together.

◆

In the medical bay, inside a large room, the nurses helped the doctors lay Marina’s body onto the hospital bed.

Every nurse all hustled to connect her to the machines and to reduce the inflammation in her body.

One nurse was gathering samples of the rash that was built on the side of her body and from her wound. Another nurse along with two others ran out of the room to go collect blood for transfusion. The nurses that remained inside were all inserting I.V.’s and attaching cords to her body to monitor her.

“Her heart rate is dropping,” one of the nurses updated.

“Where are my blood transfusions!” the doctor yelled frustratedly.

The monitor that displayed her heart rate began to beep loudly, and Marina began to wheeze and tremble.

“She’s in shock!” the doctor hollered, “Insert I.V.! We need fluids people!”

Nurses rushed inside the room with the blood transfusions. The doctor, irritatedly, grabbed the bags from the nurse’s hands and proceeded to hang them from the IV stand.

However, the monitor for her blood pressure and heart continued to beep louder, and their patient began to contour their body in odd angles while her body trembled rapidly.

“She’s seizing!” One of the nurses stated, rushing in to rotate Marina on her side.

“I need a suction! She’s foaming!” another nurse called out, being handed a small plastic tube that was inserted into her mouth.

“She’s gonna die...” the doctor said, holding onto Marina’s body.

◆

Just outside, a few rooms down, the young solider was being treated for his injuries. There was a lot of restriction about getting help, but he was finally convinced by Krolia to look for it.

“She would need a healthy guard, not an injured one,” she told him.

He suffered from a few wounds and a fractured forearm, so, he would be able to easily recover.  
Even though it was bright news, Pidge knew that none of that mattered to him in the slightest.

She would watch his dark eyes stare down at the palm of his hands, seeing the bloody bandages wrapped around them and letting only the sound of his steady heart beat echo around him while he was alone in the room.

A loud hiss from a sliding door caught his attention, and the young man noticed a small, stature woman with short, dirty-blonde hair and beady brown eyes. She wore a long, white lab coat, glasses, and carried a black tablet in her arms.

It was the paladin returning from leaving a few moments ago when nurses came in to help him.

She came inside with a smile on her face, approaching cautiously.

“How are you feeling?” she asked him.

“Would the majesty be alright?” the young man quickly asked.

“I’m assuming that was the young girl—“

“Queen,” the man corrected harshly, almost bitterly, “She’s a queen, now.”

Pidge nodded. “Right.”

This seemed to be trickier already for Pidge. Pidge isn’t an expertise with speaking to other people. The only person she ever interacted with was Chip—and he’s a robot. He seems more human than any person Pidge has ever met, but Pidge was awkward and reserved within herself when it comes to being with a group of people.

Hard to admit, but ever since her own childhood, all she cared about was her own small projects, her brother, and her parents. She didn’t have any friends as she grew up. She works alone.

It only took a small change when she became a paladin, but that didn’t come easy for her. It was rough from the start when joining the team of people she barely knew, but she never would have seen herself in a position where she is now, if it wasn’t for her friends.

She took a few steps closer, clearing her throat as her gaze fell on her tablet. She was reading Esme’s file. It was practically empty. Everything was considered “Unknown” and left blank, besides the obvious stats the nurses wrote about his condition.

She pulled a stool towards her to take a seat, thinking about how to approach this situation. She compared it to one of her programs. Sometimes there are setbacks when writing a code and she would have to read line per line about where the error was.

Her beady eyes stared closely at the young man, but he averted her eye contact. His eyebrows were furrowed closely towards the middle in a pout.

Esme is closed off—that was obviously apparent.

His picking fingers show his own anxiety and possible agitation.

Direct commands would not work with him, especially from a stranger like herself.

She could start out by trying to bargain with him. It isn’t as direct, plus it will allow both parties to gain something.

“You said that you needed the paladins’ help. I can offer you that, but I need to know what happened,” Pidge told him softly.

“I already told you,” Esme responded, his face still frowning.

Pidge lightly chuckled. “I feel like there’s more to the story.”

She noticed Esme fidgeting with the bandages that wrapped his hands, picking at it with his fingernails.

“Is she gonna die?” His voice was barely audible. He picked off a string from the bandage, pulling it.

Pidge hesitated, taking in a sharp breath.

“Well—“

“Be honest,” The young man commanded.

His eyes caught the paladin’s, holding her gaze. She could see a storm brewing inside his irises, and Pidge could feel the intensity of his own fear and anger radiating from him.

Pidge judged her decisions about what she could say. There was this slow pain inside her chest like a knife was slowly, painfully cutting at her heart. The truth hurts, and it was obvious to Pidge that the young soldier was worried.

He was digging his nails into the bandages, snagging against some of the loose string of the material. His eyes downcast, showing how his mind was occupied with his own thoughts—staring distantly at his lap.

“I can’t tell you that,” she responded, turning her gaze away.

The young man scoffed, titling his head back against the pillow to gaze up at the ceiling. Pidge scooted closer.

“She has lost a lot a blood. She may have suffered neurologically. You need to tell me what happened,” Pidge said to him.

The boy shook his head, biting his bottom lip.

“I promised them that I will protect her,” the boy muttered.

“You can still. We are here to help you now. What happened?” Pidge urged.

The boy gazed down to meet her eyes, and Pidge noticed tears glazing his eyes. The storm that Pidge once saw was gone, and now, Pidge only sees a young man sitting in front of her.

“We were attacked. They were sent to assassinate her. They slaughtered everyone,” he spoke, his voice hoarse.

“Who?” Pidge wondered.

The boy shook his head. “I already told you. They were some group of terrorists sent out to assassinate the prior queen and our current majesty.”

Pidge’s forehead wrinkled with confusion, thinking deeply on the matter.

“Do you know why?” she dared to ask.

Esme’s blood visibly boiled. “Do you think I would know that!”

Pidge scooted back. That was a mistake.

“Sorry, I just needed to understand a little better.”

Esme let out an exasperated breath, dropping his head onto the pillow again. His gaze was turned away from Pidge, staring out at the corner of the hospital room.

His voice defeated, he stated, “Can’t you put her in those...healing chambers? You have them here, right? On this planet? Couldn’t that save her life?”

Pidge gave a sad smile. “Her body is badly damaged. She can barely stay alive on her own. The chamber uses a person’s own life force in order to heal...she would die in the healing chamber before she could recuperate.”

“Dumb if you do, dumb if you don’t,” the boy groaned.

Pidge opened her mouth to respond, but her mobile in her pocket began to beep like a pager. She took it out of her pocket and noticed a message written on it:

“Emergency meeting. ASAP.”

It was from her father, Samuel Holt. Pidge sighed, putting her mobile inside her lab coat’s pocket. She gazed up at the young man, giving him a smile.

“If you need anything or remember anything, please, call me.”

The young boy nodded, and Pidge turned on her heels and left the boy alone inside his room.

Pidge felt unsatisfied like what she tried to get didn’t work. She did notice that the young man was a tad more open, in his own kind of way.

Pidge chuckled to herself, a silly thought slipping into her mind. He sort of reminds Pidge about a certain someone that she knows.

Pidge continued to hurry down the halls, taking turns to head towards the conference room on the building’s floor.

She walked through a white pair of doors that opened into the dark conference room. As she made her way inside, she walked into many of the people talking over each other. The tension in the room was thick, and Pidge could easily sense it.

There were a few people that appeared in holograms, mostly separate ambassadors of different sectors, but also, surprisingly some of the representatives of the republic. From what Pidge known, seeing the representatives at a meeting meant something serious.

Her eyes gazed down to see Krolia and Kolivan, the two ambassadors of their sector, standing in front of the room.

Pidge remained standing at the back of the room, watching everyone, but her eyes eventually fell on the large monitor. There were images of Marina and Esme appearing on the screen.

She noticed how they were registered photos from G.A.R.’s registrar. They were complete opposite: night and day.

Marina had a beaming smile on her face, her face shining with youth. Her eyes were bright and blue, shimmering like stars inside a nebula.

Esme was the opposite. Flat expression with his deep-set eyes almost glaring at the camera, his hair tightly pulled back, and wearing a uniform.

Pidge gazed down at her tablet, clicking on some icons on the screen and began to type a few codes. The images from the screen appeared on her tablet, and she secretly stored them into her tablet’s hidden, locked files.

“They both came from the Blue Lion,” Coran said, his hologram on the side of the room, “If the lions are able to trust them, then so should we.”

Coran was a royal advisor that Pidge knew personally. He is Altean, a once-extinct species that was killed off by the Galra, a species which overruled the entire universe. He was the one that helped Pidge and her other friends when they were paladins many years ago. Now, he is the ambassador of New Arus, a planet filled with New-Age Alteans and other species, after the long time war with the Galra.

He was properly dressed in formal attire: navy blue jacket with the G.A.R. insignia over his left breast pocket with navy slacks. His ginger hair was combed back with a small, ginger curl hanging over his forehead with a curl-tipped mustache to match.

“Right, just like how the Black Lion trusted Zarkon, the Emperor of the kind that committed genocide? We wouldn’t want that to happen again!” one of the representatives claimed.

“Or that Luka Case,” one of the other officials added, “We can’t afford to have any casualties.”

Krolia spoke, “We would have to understand that the lions brought them to us. We can be wary, but we shouldn’t doubt them.”

“The young girl has spoken about the previous paladins,” Samuel stated, “We could try bring them back.”

“She was delusional. She was in no condition—“ the doctor working on Marina’s case began to say but was quickly interrupted.

“She has been falling in and out of consciousness,” Samuel stated, trying to weigh the options of the situation, “Even if her state of—“

Samuel is Pidge's father. He is a lot older, yet not retired. He loves a days work, and he always tells his family that he would never think about doing anything else but research and science. He wore a Galactic Garrison uniform: a dark olive with orange palate as there were golden bands that decorated his shoulder pads to represent his seniority.

“Regardless,” Romelle, her hologram standing next to Coran, said, “The Old Paladins aren’t on-duty anymore. With all of the old paladins not present here, how could we try teaming them up again?”

Romelle, just like Coran, is Altean. She is considered as the "New Age" kind. After the Alteans were wiped out, she was one of the many who remained hidden from the outside world due to Lotor, Emperor Zarkon's son. Now, she is thriving as an ambassador by Coran's side. She had made a lot of progress with the New Age like ensuring protection with all Alteans, new and old, and made sure that all of them were welcomed on New Arus. She's slim, wore a pencil skirt with a navy, G.A.R.'s blazer. Her hair was long, wavy, and blond that was tied into an elegant ponytail as she wore jewel drop earrings with a jewel collar to match.

“You think we could try recruiting new paladins?” A representative with fair skin, long, dark hair and amber eyes, questioned.

“The girl said that they were needed. They were the only answer,” Samuel mentioned.

“I will try to speak to Keith about the matter,” Krolia added, “Last time I had contact with him, he was assisting a planet in sector 889 with his relief organization. As for the others, I’m not able to assist.”

“Katie,” Samuel called for his daughter.

Pidge gazed up from her tablet, the screen reflecting on the lenses of her glasses. Her beady orbs gazed around the room, feeling the chill from the eyes of the guests weighing on her.

“Do you think you will be able to call them?” he asked her.

Pidge bit her bottom lip. “I could…but, it has been years since we contacted each other, and one of them is currently unavailable to reach.”

“How do you mean?” the fair-skinned representative asked.

Pidge shrugged. “I can’t really say, Representative. He sort of asked not to be reached unless it is an emergency…”

“This is an emergency!” a Galactic Garrison General boomed, “We have two foreign aliens on our land claiming that they were attacked by terrorists! Has anyone forgotten what that boy said!”

“General, please remain calm. As of now, we are safe,” Kolivan responded, his eyes glaring at the general.

Kolivan is Galra, yet, he was one of the leaders of the Blade of Marmora, a secretive organization that was against the ideals of the Galra empire during the Galra ruling. He is a secretive man–not a man of many words but looks. His face was stern, his eyebrows were always wrinkled together with eyes that were purely yellow. He had a scar that decorated the right side of his face, striking down his eyebrow and eye. He wore a thin, purple braid that drapped over his left shoulder as his attire mirrored Krolia's. His skin, like Krolia, was purple like lilac's pedals, but his power was nothing like a flower. As intimidating as he appears, even though he was calm and rational, his force was something no one can reckon with.

Him and Krolia were co-workers, companions, and, possibly, more. They worked very closely together as they both are ambassadors of Pidge's sector.

“In the meantime, we need to do more progress on this girl. We also need to seek out the trainees and have them run tests with the lions. And, Coran,” the fair-skinned representative said, “Try contacting the old paladins again to let them know about our situation. We will have to deal with what we have for now.”

Coran nodded, saluting to her before her hologram vanished; Romelle’s hologram followed after him.

“And, Ms. Holt,” The representative said, “As Coran tries to contact the previous paladins, you can make sure to run possible tests with the potential new recruits. I have several in mind that can be suitable for the job.”

Pidge nodded, saying, “Yes ma’am, but, if you don’t mind me asking, why should we look for recruits if myself and the others could be called in?”

The representative smiled. The smile seemed friendly, but it was her eyes that Pidge noticed that weren’t. “The reason is, if any of our recruits fail as replacements, we can continue with yourself and the others.”

Pidge nodded, giving a humble “okay.” without another word. The representative’s eyes never left Pidge for a moment, unsettling Pidge as she stood at the back of the room. She had to distract herself by mindlessly scrolling through her tablet.

“What about my patient’s condition?” the doctor asked, standing up from his chair.

The entire room fallen into silence, all eyes were on the doctor who was speaking to Krolia and Kolivan.

“What is her status?” Krolia asked.

The doctor sighed, shaking his head. “Not good, madam. There is a severe spread of an infection from her wound. Just recently, we found out her kidneys are shutting down. She’s also falling into spills of seizures every hour.”

Pidge began to take notes, scanning through her programs about the symptoms. She saw a large directory of medical terms that have all the similar symptoms—it was about a two-mile long list of issues that this young girl could have.

She was clicking through each one on the first page, but she halted when her brain refreshed her about the wound that was on her side. It was a sliced wound…as if someone cut her.

She gazed up, a light bulb flickering over her head.

“Were you able to source the infections?” Kolivan asked.

“No, but…we put her on steroids to fight the inflammation and we had to induce her in a coma. Her brain was inflamed, and it seems her own antibodies are attacking everything that is having an infection. Her own body is in shock.“

The sliding doors hissed open, and everyone noticed Pidge making her quick exit.

“Pidge, this meeting has not been adjourned! I ask—“

“Sorry, Krolia, but I need to save someone’s life,” Pidge interjected.

“Excuse me, but that is my patient!” the doctor yelled.

“Yeah, well, this is my case, since they landed here!”

“You’re not even a doctor! How would you know—“

“I’m a space explorer. You only been looking from things from Earth’s point-of-view. She’s not from Earth.”

She turned on her heels and left the room, walking quickly down through the hall to head into the young man’s hospital room.

She walked by a desk full of nurses, and she called for a few of them. The nurses in the orange scrubs quickly walked beside her, trying to keep up.

“I need those results from the toxin test. Also, do a few more blood tests and send them to my lab. A-SAP.”

The nurses all nodded, quickly splitting into different directions.

Each step she took was built on her own confidence. Pidge had a plan, and that was to save that girl’s life. She was dumb for not thinking about it before, but she will not let anyone get in her way. Her feet led her down through the halls, ignoring all the glances from the nurses and guests that whispered amongst themselves about her.

There was a force around her, pushing everyone away as she hurried through. She pulled out her mobile phone, sending an immediate message to all her co-workers at the botany lab.

“I need samples of the plants from the lab to start toxin screening when blood tests arrive,” Pidge ordered.

Even if it will be a goose chase to figure out what plant could be the cause, Pidge knew that it is always best to start off with something. Just like many of her projects, she is built with determination like a tall wall built with cement and iron. Nothing could tear her down, and she will not let anything get in the way of her helping the boy and girl.

  
She made it to Esme’s hospital room, squeezing through the small open gap as the door was hissing open. Once she entered, the young man looked up at her, his eyes scanning her with surprise.

“What’s the matter?” Esme asked, noticing Pidge’s urgency.

“Esme, I need to ask you a few important questions about your home world.”

Esme glanced away, confused. “Okay?”  
  
“Are there any typical toxic plants that can cause rashes or any sort of side effects like burns?” Pidge asked him.

She pulled a stool that she was sitting on before and sat on it. From reading his medical reports, everything appeared to be at a good-standing for him. But, something with Marina didn’t add right.

“What does this have to do with the queen?” Esme wondered.

“Well, she’s in a lot of pain. The wound seems to be burned by something, and her kidneys are severely damaged, and she’s been having seizures every hour.”

Esme sighed, “She’s not getting better.”

Pidge silently nodded. Esme shook his head, bitting his bottom lip and slamming his fists against the mattress of his hospital bed.

“The doctor has ordered to induce her in a coma,” Pidge said.

Esme turned at Pidge. “What does that mean?”

“To ensure the protection of her brain, the coma will be able to slow down the inflammation inside. She’s already on steroids and other medications to treat the symptoms of her infections, and the doctor ordered for a test to see her kidneys.”

The young solider remained silent, his eyes gazing down at his lap again. Pidge eyed him, and she noticed how his fists were tightly clenched and shaking.

Pidge spoke softly, tenderness filling her voice, “And...if we don’t do this, there’s a high risk she will die a lot quicker.”

“You guys haven’t found the cause about why this is happening to her!” Esme frustratedly asked.

Pidge sighed, “We tested for all sort of flesh eating bacteria and toxins that could cause her similar symptoms, but it doesn’t explain the kidneys or—“

“We were sent here because we needed all of your help! If you don’t save her, I am obligated to do my duty as a royal officer and guard to legally bind you until death—do you understand, Paladin?”

Pidge stated, calmly, “I need you to tell me…do you know any poisons from your planet that can do this?”

Esme sighed heavily, shaking his head. “No, no I don’t. What does this have to do with—“

“The wound on her side. When I first saw it, I thought it was an infection, but instead, it was a chemical burn. Whatever cut her had poison on it. We can’t trace the source because it is not from our planet.”

Esme remained staring at her, and Pidge could see the slight panic coming from his gaze. He pulled away, sighing heavily.

He closed his eyes tightly, leaning his head against the pillow.

“Many guards are able to study specific subjects to specialize when they are assigned as soldiers…I was the guy who remained positioned in the back. I studied Herbology and Geology, but, there are a few plants that can be used to heal wounds or help sicknesses, but these plants in high doses can be highly toxic.”

“What are they?”

Esme shook his head. “These plants are restricted only official—“

He was cut off, trailing away into a deep thought. Pidge noticed his eyes slowly widen and Esme’s shock of realization turned into a frustrated frown.

“That son of a bitch!” Esme bitterly stated.

“Esme, you have to tell me—“

“Casimir. He was the prior Queen’s royal confidant and advisor. Bastard is what he was, truly. A traitor. He was also a herbologist.”

“Do you know what he could’ve used? If it is registered—“

“Possibly, but, I’ll humor you. There’s one plant that I know that may do this—Cycas Communis. It’s a green and pink plant. It can be used for treatments for extreme cases, but when combined with chemicals and used with high dosages, it can be toxic to the kidneys but also cause inflammation in the brain.”

Pidge smiled, resting her hand on Esme’s. “Thank you, Esme. You just saved her life.”

Esme was at first shocked by what she said, but Pidge noticed the rigid young man soften with a small smile.

Pidge took out her mobile, calling the scientists in the lab about her report.

“Hey, Greg? Yeah, look up Cycas Communis in the Universal Registration. It should be there.”

She took her leave from the hospital room to head to her botany lab, and for once, Pidge noticed as Esme laid lying in his bed, he looked like he felt more at ease.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Please leave a comment! All thoughts would be greatly appreciated! 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it!


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